Canadian Wheat Board

Temporary forerunners of the board operated from 1917 to 1920. The CWB was originally established as a voluntary marketing agency for prairie wheat, but the sale of wheat through the board became compulsory in 1943 and, in 1949, CWB powers were extended to include prairie oats and barley. Following changes in feed-grain policy in 1974 and 1976, exclusive marketing rights over interprovincial sale of prairie grain fed to animals in Canada were removed from the board. Domestic and export marketing of oats was removed from CWB jurisdiction in 1989 and the CWB role in marketing barley has subsequently been debated.

Some farmers and their associations express strong views for, and against, the sole exporter status of the CWB, particularly for barley. For a 40-day period in 1994, barley export sales to the United States were deregulated, prior to a legal challenge about the way this was authorized, and the subsequent change of federal government. There is a lack of agreement as to how well such a "dual" marketing structure might work in the longer term. In this possible marketing system, grain farmers could choose to sell to the CWB or to other traders. Other traders would compete with the board in sales for export or to millers.

Amendments to the CWB Act in 1998 will change the governance of the Board in 1999. It will no longer be a CROWN CORPORATION, directed by 3 to 5 appointed Commissioners. Instead, western grain farmers will elect 10 CWB directors; 5 more, including the president, will be government-appointed.

The CWB administers the government-guaranteed initial prices paid to producers and operates a system of annual averaging (pooling) of producers' prices. It regulates producers' deliveries of grain to country elevators through delivery quotas and contracts, monitors grain markets and prices and helps to co-ordinate delivery of grain to export ports. The 1998 amendments will allow the CWB more flexibility in producer-level price arrangements and other marketing operations. It will continue to be a self-financing institution, reporting to the minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat Board.

The board generally does not own or operate physical marketing facilities but uses various GRAIN HANDLING AND MARKETING companies as agents to handle and sell grain on its behalf. The board also directly sells export grain to trading agencies of importing countries. Board headquarters are in Winnipeg.

Author M.M. VEEMAN and T.S. VEEMAN

Links to Other Sites
Viterra, Inc.
The website for Viterra, Inc., a widely held, publicly traded agri-business corporation which owns country and port terminal elevator facilities, 100% of Agricore, 100% of Can-Oat Milling, 100% ownership of Western Co-operative Fertilizers Limited, 42.4% of Prairie Malt Limited, and 64% of Prince Rupert Grain.

Saskatchewan Grain Elevator
A brief history of the iconic Prairie grain elevator from the Canadian Museum of Civilization.